United States Air Force - USAF (since 1947)

Site:

MSN:

464023

YOM:

1955

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While taking off from U-Tapao NAS in heavy rain falls on an Arc Light mission, the pilot's and copilot's airspeed indicators gave different readings. The captain decided to abort the takeoff procedure but the aircraft was unable to stop within the remaining distance and overran runway 36, lost its landing gear and came to rest in flames. All six crew members escaped uninjured while the aircraft was destroyed.

Crash of a Lockheed C-130B Hercules in Katum: 6 killed

Date & Time: Jun 23, 1969

Type of aircraft:

Landing (descent or approach)

Operator:

Registration:

61-0965

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Supply

Survivors:

Site:

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

Schedule:

Saigon - Katum

MSN:

3652

YOM:

1961

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On final approach top Katum Special Forces Camp, at an altitude of 3,000 feet, the airplane was hit in the port wing by a quad .50 calibre radar-directed anti-aircraft gun causing a fire an engine failure. The aircraft went out of control, dove into the ground and crashed few km short of runway. All six crew members were killed.
Crew:
Cpt Gary Edward Brunner,
Maj William Howard Condit,
1st Lt Terry Michael Reed,
Lt Col Jean Arthur Kearby,
S/Sgt Billy Wallace McDonald,
S/Sgt George Charles Peters.

Probable cause:

Shot down by enemy fire.

Crash of a Douglas EC-47P in Ubon Ratchathani

Date & Time: Jun 7, 1969

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

43-49547

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Ubon Ratchathani (อุบลราชธานี)

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

MSN:

15363/26808

YOM:

1944

Location:

Ubon Ratchathani

Country:

Thailand

Region:

Asia

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Shortly after takeoff from Ubon Ratchathani Airport, while climbing, both engines lost power. The captain elected to ditch the aircraft into the Mun River located about two km south of the airfield. All eight crew members were rescued while the aircraft was destroyed.

Probable cause:

Loss of engine power during initial climb for unknown reason.

Crash of a Boeing RC-135E into the Bering Sea: 19 killed

Date & Time: Jun 5, 1969 at 1022 LT

Type of aircraft:

Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker

Operator:

Registration:

62-4137

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Shemya - Eielson

MSN:

18477/C43

YOM:

1962

Flight number:

Irene92

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Aircraft flight hours:

3350

Circumstances:

The crew departed Shemya Airport, in the Aleutians Islands, bound for Eielson AFB, under call sign Irene 92. At 0936LT, while cruising between the Rats and Andreanof Islands, the copilot informed ATC about vibrations but elected to continue the flight. Few minutes later, the radio contact was lost due to technical problems but ATC was able to follow the plane on screens till 1022LT when it disappeared in the Amchitka passage. SAR operations were conducted for nine days but no trace of the airplane nor the 19 occupants was found. More details on http://www.spyflight.co.uk/Rivet%20Amber.htm

Probable cause:

Due to the lack of evidences, it was not possible to determine the exact cause of the accident. Nevertheless, it was reported that the airplane experienced severe turbulences while completing an observation mission off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula. After landing at Shemya AFB, the airplane was inspected for damage. Extensive skin damage to the tail section to include the vertical stabilizer, and areas close to the long wire High Frequency (HF) antenna tail mounts was found. No other external or internal damage that could be visually inspected was discovered, and no damage to the modified sections of the aircraft’s S-Band radome was noted. Over the objection of the maintenance crew, the aircrew was directed to fly the aircraft to Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska for additional inspection and repairs as necessary.

Ground accident of a Lockheed C-130E Hercules in St Petersburg

Date & Time: May 30, 1969

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

62-1831

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

MSN:

3794

YOM:

1963

Location:

Saint Petersburg

Florida

Country:

United States of America

Region:

North America

Crew on board:

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Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

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Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

Suffered a ground accident at St Petersburg Airport. No casualties.

Crash of a Lockheed C-130A Hercules in Katum

Date & Time: May 27, 1969

Type of aircraft:

Landing (descent or approach)

Operator:

Registration:

56-0472

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

MSN:

3080

YOM:

1957

Location:

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Circumstances:

The aircraft was completing a flight to Katum, carrying a load of construction equipment. On final approach, the airplane was hit by enemy fire. After touchdown, when the propellers went into reverse pitch, the fuel was sucked up into the engines and ignited. The aircraft veered off runway to the right and came to rest in flames. All five crew members escaped uninjured while the aircraft was partially destroyed by fire.

Probable cause:

Shot down by enemy fire.

Crash of a Lockheed AC-130A Hercules at Ubon Ratchathani AFB: 2 killed

Date & Time: May 24, 1969

Type of aircraft:

Landing (descent or approach)

Operator:

Registration:

54-1629

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survey / Patrol / Reconnaissance

Survivors:

Site:

Ubon Ratchathani (อุบลราชธานี)

Schedule:

Ubon Ratchathani - Ubon Ratchathani

MSN:

3016

YOM:

1957

Location:

Ubon Ratchathani

Country:

Thailand

Region:

Asia

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

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Circumstances:

The AC-130A gunship operated on a night time reconnaissance flight checking for enemy truck traffic. The crew noticed a convoy and were preparing to attack when their Hercules was struck by two rounds of 37 mm AAA. It was flying near Ban Tabok, 32 km SW of the A Shau Valley at an altitude of 6,500 feet. The hydraulic system failed and the flight crew were not able to used elevator trim, rudder control and autopilot. Using differential engine power the pilot managed to head to Ubon for an emergency landing. Several crew members were ordered to bail out before the landing. The Hercules crash-landed, skidding off the runway. It burst into flames when a wing was torn off after striking the barrier cable housing near the end of the runway.
Source: Chris Hobson

Probable cause:

Shot down by enemy fire.

Crash of a Lockheed C-130E Hercules into The Channel: 1 killed

Date & Time: May 23, 1969 at 0655 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

63-7789

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type: